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Zang Ba 臧霸
Zang Ba 臧霸 Biography Zang Ba's father, Jie 戒, fell into disfavour with the Grand Administrator of the commandery after he disobeyed him. The Grand Administrator was furious and desired to kill Jie, so he sent 100 odd men to arrest Jie and escort him to the capital for punishment. 18 at the time, Ba led several dozen retainers to rescue his father; none of the guards were willing to resist him, so Zang Ba and his father managed to escape. The fugitives then fled east into Donghai 東海 commandery in Xu province, where Ba became known for his valiance and strength. When Yellow Turbans rose up in Xu province, Zang Ba followed Tao Qian 陶謙 and defeated them. For his achievements, Ba was appointed Commandant of Cavalry. In 193 A.D., Cao Cao 曹操 laid waste to the forces of Xu province in his thirst for vengeance against Tao Qian. He then assembled various officers from his home commandery scattered about Xu province: Sun Guan 孫觀, Wu Dun 吳敦, Yin Li 尹禮 and Chang Xi 昌豨; and together they gathered men and camped at Kaiyang 開陽; Ba was made their leader.SGZ: Biography of Cao Cao. Each of the Taishan officers had a nickname, Zang Ba was called "Outlaw Slave" (奴寇).SGZ: Book of Wei quoted in the Biography of Zang Ba. Alliance with Lü Bu In 197 A.D., Zang Ba and his cohorts attacked Xiao Jian 蕭建 at Ju 莒 city and successfully seized the city; they also promised an alliance with Lü Bu 呂布 in exchange for money, yet they never delivered on their promise. Bu himself came to Ju to collect the promised payment but Zang Ba and his cohorts fortified the city and Bu was forced to leave empty handed.HHS: Biography of Lü Bu.SGZ: Records of Heroes and Champions quoted in Biography of Zhang Miao. In 198 A.D. after Lü Bu drove Liu Bei 劉備 from Xu province, Zang Ba and the others renewed their alliance with Lü Bu; And when Cao Cao attacked Bu, Zang Ba led the forces to assist. However, with Bu's capture, Ba and the others were forced to hide in order to avoid Cao Cao. Cao Cao managed to seek out Ba and convinced him to recruit his other Taishan associates and bring them to Cao Cao. Cao Cao then split Langye 琅邪, Donghai 東海 and Beihai 北海 commanderies of Qing and Xu province to make Chengyang 城陽, Licheng 利城 and Changlu 昌慮 commanderies.SGZ: Biography of Cao Cao. Zang Ba was appointed Chancellor of Langye and entrusted with watching over Xu and Qing provinces; each of his associates were appointed Grand Administrator of the one of the various commanderies. Service to Cao Cao When Yan province rebelled against Cao Cao, Generals Xu Xi 徐翕 and Mao Hui 毛暉 had joined in the revolt; and when Cao Cao settled the province, they had fled to Zang Ba to seek refuge. Now that Zang Ba was a vassal to him, Cao Cao sent Liu Bei to demand the heads of the two rebels. Zang Ba spoke to Liu Bei saying: :"It is because I have not behaved harshly towards those seeking my help that I have been able to establish myself. I have received Duke Cao's kindness and thus would not dare disobey his commands; however, tell him that a true king could show mercy. But if my actions truly displease him, I will resign." Liu Bei returned and relayed Zang Ba's words to Cao Cao. Cao Cao sighed and said: :"This is the conduct and responsibility seen in heroes of old." Cao Cao then granted Xu Xi and Mao Hui positions within the commandery. In 199 A.D., Yuan Shao 袁紹 led over 100.000 soldiers south to invade Xu province. In the eighth month, Cao Cao quickly advanced north in order to counter Yuan Shao's advance. Zang Ba was given elite soldiers and sent to Qi 齊, Beihai 北海 and Dong’an 東安 commanderies to defend the eastern flank of the advance.SGZ: Biography of Cao Cao. Ba remained out east until Cao Cao had defeated Shao at Guandu 官渡 and his son, Yuan Tan 袁譚, at Nanpi 南皮; at which point, Zang Ba came out to congratulate Cao Cao on his success. Zang Ba offered to send his family to Ye as hostages to show his loyalty, but Cao Cao refused and said: :"Zang Ba, your loyalty is like no other. In former times, Xiao He sent his son and younger brother to the capital, yet Liu Bang did not turn them away; Geng Chun burned down his family residence, yet Emperor Guangwu was unable to stop him.Geng Chun brought his family and pledged loyalty to Liu Xun (Emperor Guangwu); to make sure his clan stayed alongside Liu Xun, Chun burned down the residences of his family to make sure they did not desert and return home. Both were exceedingly loyal yet that loyalty not reciprocated; I would like to be the one that changes that."Sun Guan's family was dispatched to Ye as hostages at this time; it was probably this event that prompted Zang Ba to offer to send his family, but Cao Cao must have considered Zang Ba loyal enough that it was not necessary. The eastern provinces had been in chaos, but thanks to the presence of Zang Ba, and the others from Taishan, the region was completely settled. The others were all ennobled as Marquises, but because Ba's merits were greatest, he was ennobled as a Marquis of a Chief Village and promoted to General Who Dominates the Caitiffs (wēilǔ jiāngjūn 威虜將軍). One of Ba's Taishan associates, Chang Xi, then decided to rebel in Donghai; Zang Ba went to deal with him, along with Yu Jin 于禁, another native of Taishan. Xu He 徐和 and Sima Ju 司馬俱, Yellow Turbans of Ji'nan 濟南 and Le'an 樂安 commanderies, started attacking Qing province. Xiahou Yuan 夏侯淵 then lead forces from around Qing province to resist them. The Turbans were badly defeated, Xu He killed and their grains distributed to the army.SGZ: Biography of Xiahou Yuan. Zang Ba was then appointed Inspector of Xu province. Pursuit of Chen Lan and Mei Cheng Chen Lan 陳蘭 and Mei Cheng 梅成 incited the Di tribes of Lujiang (廬江) commandery. Cao Cao dispatched Yu Jin and Zang Ba to punish Cheng, and Zhang Liao 張遼 to punish Lan. Cheng quickly surrendered to Yu Jin, but just as quickly rebelled again and fled to reinforce Lan. The rebels were pursued yo Mt. Tianzhu (天柱山) by Zhang Liao.SGZ: Biography of Zhang Liao. Fearing Wu would provide support to the rebels, Zang Ba took a detachment to Huan (皖) city to attack General Han Dang 韓當. Ba and Dang engaged in battle at Fenglong (逢龍) and then at Jiashi (夾石), where Ba defeated Dang before returning to camp at Shu (舒) city. Sun Quan 孫權 then dispatched several tens of thousands of troopsAn exaggeration maybe? There is no reference to these actions in the Wu SGZs; and Chen Lan and Mei Cheng hardly seemed worth such a large number of troops. by boat to Shukou (舒口) to assist Lan, but seeing Zang Ba blocking his path Sun Quan turned about. During the night, Ba went in pursuit and, after travelling over 50 km, managed to catch the Wu forces in a pincer. Attacked from front and rear, the Wu forces panicked and, unable to get to their boats, many jumped into the river and tried swimming away. Without aid, Chen Lan and Mei Cheng were killed by Zhang Liao. Battle of Ruxu In 217 A.D., the Wei forces marched against Wu's fortified port at Ruxu (濡須); Zang Ba and Zhang Liao led the vanguard. At the time, there was heavy rain, the rivers were rising and the Wu forces had boats, so many of men were uncertain. Zhang Liao thought they should withdraw, but Zang Ba said: :"Duke Cao is clear-sighted with regard to advantage and disadvantage, wouldn't it be better to wait for his decision?" The next day orders arrived and Zhang Liao spoke to Cao Cao about Zang Ba's loyalty; Cao Cao was pleased by his words and promoted to General Who Displays Awe and bestowed the Staff of Authority. Both sides were arrayed for battle, but there was little conflict as neither side believed they could succeed without great losses. Both sides settled on an uneasy truceSGZ: Book of Wu quoted in the Biography of Sun Quan.; Cao Cao withdrew and Xiahou Dun 夏侯惇 and Zang Ba were stationed at Juchao (居巢) to guard the border. Service to Cao Pi When Cao Pi 曹丕 acceded the throne of Wei, Zang Ba was promoted to General Who Defends the East, enfeoffed as Marquis of Wu'an (武安) Village, and appointed Chief Controller of Qing province with authority of all military matters therein. And when Emperor Cao Pi assumed the imperial throne, Ba was further advanced in nobility to Marquis of Kaiyang (開陽) and Marquis of Liangcheng (良成). In the 9th month of 222 A.D., Cao Pi invaded Wu on three fronts. Cao Pi dispatched Cao Xiu 曹休, Zhang Liao and Zang Ba to attack the fortified port at the mouth of Dong river (洞口); in response, Sun Quan sent Lü Fan 呂範 to command five naval fleets to resist them. Cao Xiu signalled that he wanted to lead a potentially one way trip over the river, but Cao Pi quickly sent edicts to stop him. However, Palace Attendant Dong Zhao 董昭 said that the army would not cross; Zhao was of the opinion that Zang Ba and some of the other generals were comfortable in their position and would not do anything too risky.SGZ: Biography of Dong Zhao. In the 11th month, there was a violent storm and the Wu fleet was dashed against the northern shore; several 1,000 soldiers died or drowned in the storm.SGZ: Biography of Sun Quan. With the devastation of the Wu forces, Cao Xiu dispatched Zang Ba with 500 light boats and 10,000 shock troops to attack Xuling (徐陵) on the southern bank. Despite an accidental fire set by the Wu forces, the Wei forces couldn't capitalise on their luck and several 1,000 soldiers were killed and General Yin Lu 尹盧 captured.SGZ: Biography of Sun Quan. The Wei forces were repelled and retreated. After that Zang Ba was recalled to court and given the Rank of Bearer of the Gilded Mace; whenever the army marched to battle, Ba would hereafter be consulted. When Emperor Cao Rui 曹叡 acceded the imperial throne, Zang Ba's fief was increased by 500 households to 3,500 households. Zang Ba died in 230 A.D. and was posthumously canonised as "Conquering" (威) Lord of Kaiyang. Family Father * Zang Jie (臧戒) Sons * Zang Ai (臧艾) - Became Inspector of Qingzhou and was posthumously canonised as "Reverent" (恭) Lord. * Zang Shun (臧舜) - Styled Taibo (太伯). Was given the rank of Cavalier Attendant-in-Ordinary in the Jin state. * 3 unnamed sons - For Ba's exploits, 2 were made Marquises and 1 a Secondary Marquis. Grandsons * Zang Quan (臧權) - Ai's successor. Fact vs. Fiction Notes References Sources Category:Wei Category:Wei Personages